TWO brothers who knifed an innocent father to death after wrongly accusing him of stealing a gold chain he knew nothing about are facing life behind bars.

TWO brothers who knifed an innocent father to death after wrongly accusing him of stealing a gold chain he knew nothing about are facing life behind bars. Armed with two kitchen knives, Carl Wheal, 36, of Timothy House, Kale Road, Thamesmead and his half brother Gary, 27, of Lensbury Way, Thamesmead, stabbed helpless Mark Evans 39 times. He bled to death on the pavement outside a tower block.

The brothers accused Mr Evans, 44, of taking a chain belonging to 24-year-old Robert Randall.

But after the killing police discovered Randall had never even been wearing the bracelet because it was later found at his home. The Wheal brothers were convicted of murder last Friday by a jury at the Old Bailey, after less than four hours of deliberations. Randall was cleared of murder and an alternative of manslaughter after saying he was only a witness and took not part in the killing.